I also heard them in Central Jersey and had the same thoughts as you...... But I am nowhere near Barnegat, so somewhere in Monmouth Country must have also had fireworks tonight. Although I only heard the sounds for a few minutes, around 9:30, which is weird. If it was fireworks, def. inappropriate to say the least. If it wasn't, then WTF was it??

There's always an Arquillian Battle Cruiser, or a Corillian Death Ray, or an intergalactic plague that is about to wipe out all life on this miserable little planet, and the only way these people can get on with their happy lives is that they DO NOT KNOW ABOUT IT!